Border Security Working Group meeting Thursday

07/05/2017

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to inform the community that Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton and Ratsénhaienhs Billy Diabo will be in Niagara Falls, Ontario to participate in an Assembly of First Nations-led Border Security Working Group workshop on Thursday.

Identifying strategies for Indigenous border communities and discussing a pilot project for a proposed secured Indigenous border identification card will be the main agenda items. Updates will be provided on other developments and initiatives, such as the one-year review being undertaken by the Canadian Senate to examine the historic right of Indigenous border crossing and how it can be applied in modern day terms.

Also, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services is now (or will soon be) requiring that Indigenous persons who cross the border for employment purposes must provide an Employment Eligibility Verification form, according to information provided by the Assembly of First Nations. This new policy would have an impact on Kahnawa’kehrò:non and will be discussed at the meeting:

The Working Group was formed by the Assembly of First Nations to address border crossing issues common to Indigenous people. Former Akwesasne Grand Chief Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell is coordinating the group’s meetings.